Empress Xia folded her yellow sleeves with golden dragon patterns. The jade phoenix holding the pearls on the crown on her head gently trembled. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed under her clear forehead, forming a few fine wrinkles. The dark green robe covered a young girl with beautiful features and a slim figure. But her serious expression made her look like an old woman who had been through hardships.
Liu Jin looked at her pretending to be mature and laughed in his heart. But his face had a respectful expression as he said, "Your Highness, you are the mother of the world and the role model of the six palaces. If the princesses do not follow the rules and Your Highness ignores them, then it will be hard to manage the harem in the future.
Ai, Luo Xiang is also insensible. Right now he is in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but he is so impetuous in handling matters. How could he report this matter to niangniang? Niangniang wants to feign ignorance and let them off, but she can't. "
Empress Xia saw that Yang Ling had openly invited the two princesses away without asking her, the master of the harem. She was furious. But when she ran back to the palace, she first complained to the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager used the example of Concubine Wan dethroning the Empress to persuade her.
Although Empress Xia was indignant, she thought about how Imperial Concubine Wan was born as a palace maid. She had no backing and yet she was able to overthrow the Empress. If it wasn't for her old age, the Empress Dowager at that time firmly refused to allow her to enter the palace. She would have become the Empress.
Now the Emperor was head over heels in love with that fox named Tang. She also had a cousin who held great power. It was not difficult for the three palaces to call him in and reprimand him. But it was not easy to do anything to an official of the outer court. Her desire for revenge had faded.
But at this time, when Liu Jin provoked her, her pretty face turned red. She could not help but rebuke, "When did I want to pretend to be deaf and mute? Although there is the Emperor's decree, Yang Ling dared to disregard me and take the princesses out of the palace without informing me and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He has violated the rules and should be punished. As for the two princesses... "
Empress Xia hesitated for a moment. The two princesses were the twin sisters of the current Emperor and the biological daughters of the Empress Dowager. If she really punished them severely, wouldn't she offend both inside and outside?
Liu Jin saw this and said with a fake smile, "The Old Slave understands in his heart. If Her Ladyship did not punish them, the other princesses and noble consorts would all act on their own and not listen to orders. Would there still be any rules in the inner palace? Giving a severe punishment yet afraid of harming the harmony of the Imperial Palace, Your Ladyship has really put in a lot of effort! "
He took a step forward and said, "The Old Slave does have a method that satisfies both sides. What does Your Ladyship think?"
Empress Xia was in a dilemma. Hearing this, she could not help but be happy, "Eunuch Liu, tell me quickly."
Liu Jin bowed and said, "Yes, the Old Slave thinks that the princesses have to be punished. But it is not good to go too far. It is better to let the Ministry of Internal Affairs reduce the expenses of the two princesses in the palace as a punishment. Her Ladyship will then issue an imperial edict to ground them for ten days, which is enough to let the inner palace know the rules. As for Yang Ling... "
He glanced at Empress Xia and said in a low voice, "This matter involves the princesses, so it is not just a national affair. Luo Xiang, the director of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, has the responsibility to impeach him. But his words do not carry much weight. Without a powerful minister to speak at the same time, the Emperor will not punish him. Won't he be more unscrupulous in the future? If Official Xia writes at the same time, the Emperor will not be able to refute and will call him to reprimand him. As a minister, how dare he hate Your Ladyship because of this? If Your Ladyship is worried... "
Flicking her sleeves and raising her eyebrows, Empress Xia reprimanded, "What are you worried about? Go, pass my imperial edict, order the Ministry of Internal Affairs to reduce the expenses of Yongfu and Yongchun in the palace! Order the maids of the palace to supervise the Princess's Mansion, and the two princesses are grounded for ten days! "
"The Old Slave obeys Your Ladyship's imperial edict!" Liu Jin hurriedly saluted. The Prime Minister of the internal court was so respectful that Empress Xia could not help but find some confidence. She snorted coldly and led the six palace maids to the inner palace. Liu Jin got up from the ground. The flattering look was gone, and there was a cold smile on his lips.
※ ※ ※
On the day before the Japanese envoys entered the capital, the Jingxi Cathedral of the Westerners was completed.
A towering building with red bricks, a dome, and pointed spires at the four corners. A huge milky white cross stood on top of the church. Jacob and Asan the Fire, wearing new priest robes, stood by the petal-shaped holy basin in front of the church with tears streaming down their faces.
They had traveled tens of thousands of miles by sea for ten years, and they had been beggars for a few years, almost starving to death. Now, they finally had their own cathedral. They had built the first place in the Great Ming Dynasty where they could preach to God through sound transmission. All of their hard work and risks had been rewarded. Yang Ling was really the messenger of happiness that God had bestowed upon them.
What excited them most was that Mr. Yang had invited the current Emperor, the Emperor of the most powerful empire in the world, to attend the inauguration ceremony of the cathedral and the first grand mass. If it were not for the long journey, they would not have had the chance to welcome him. It was the honor of the Pope and the cardinals. It could be imagined that once the news of the Emperor's visit spread today, it would have a great impact on their preaching.
No wonder the missionaries were grinning from ear to ear even though their eyes were brimming with tears. The brocade guards surrounded the cathedral, and the ordinary people could only watch from a distance. Zhengde curiously looked at the building with a different style until Gu Daeyong called "Your Majesty" several times in succession, and he came to his senses.
Park Eunhee, the special envoy of North Korea to visit the Emperor, looked on coldly. She shook her head slightly, and a trace of worry appeared on her face.
Ming Destiny died and the new Emperor succeeded the throne. Soon half of the Six Ministers were purged, and two of the Grand Secretaries, who were known as the pillars of Ming Destiny's country, were also dismissed. Rumors of the new Emperor's fatuity and turmoil in the court spread far and wide to North Korea.
The King of North Korea was very worried when he heard the news. North Korea was a vassal state of Ming Destiny, and the people's livelihood depended heavily on it. Moreover, the neighboring Jurchen and Japan frequently had small-scale wars, and Ming Destiny had to mediate the balance. If Ming Destiny had a civil strife, North Korea would be the first to suffer, so he immediately sent an envoy to Ming Destiny to find out what was going on.
When Park Eunhee arrived at the capital, Zhengde was in Datong. Ambassador Park had nothing to do and often walked the streets. Every day, he heard all kinds of rumors among the people, and he was even more disappointed with the Emperor Ming Destiny. But after Zhengde returned to the capital, he mentioned that he defeated the Tartars and united with Wuyangha. After hearing about it, he was keenly aware of the value of it.
The Three Duoyan Guards and the Jurchen tribes were on the grassland. If they were not used by Ming Destiny, they were used by the Tartars. They traded with each other and used interests to restrain them into becoming Ming Destiny's allies.
The Tartars were defeated, and the Boyan Khan, who had just unified the grassland, was unstable. The internal political situation became unpredictable. Under this situation, Ming Destiny had the strategic ability to turn defense into offense. If the distribution of power in the entire grassland and Liaodong changed because of this, it would directly affect North Korea. This aroused his interest. Could it be that the Emperor Zhengde, who indulged in wine and women, wanted to be the King Zhuang of Chu?
However, Zheng De's subsequent absurd actions in the leopard's room once again shattered his fantasy. It was really hard for him to believe that Zheng De, who showed his joy and anger on his face, talked and laughed frivolously the whole time without the slightest hint of a monarch's dignity, could be a promising ruler.
The Annan envoy, Ruan Dayou, saw that he was lost in thought. He pulled his sleeve and said, "The Emperor has left. Hurry up."
Park Eunhee finally reacted and hurriedly followed into the courtyard of the church.
Because of the 'tribute' policy of Ming Destiny, the Emperor Zhang Fan must treat the envoy well. If the private goods came, the envoy would be paid twice the price. Therefore, as long as the small foreign countries verbally admitted that they were Ming Destiny's vassals, this business was simply profitable. The goods brought were sold to Ming Destiny's dynasty at a price several times higher than the market price.
As a result, some small countries tasted the sweetness and came to pay tribute from time to time. The Ming Dynasty originally stipulated that Annan should pay tribute every three years, and the number of envoys should not exceed five. However, Annan sent people to pay tribute almost every year, and the number of envoys they sent reached one or two hundred people. Ming Destiny was overwhelmed. However, they were paying tribute to the Celestial Dynasty, and it was not good to refuse the envoys outside the country, so they had to suffer in silence.
This Ambassador Ruan came to Ming Destiny to ask for a favor. As for whether the emperor was wise or stupid, it was far less important to Annan than Korea, so he did not care.
Zhengde walked in front. He had already listened to the introduction of Yasan the Fire, and curiously asked a few words in the language used to greet each other when they met. He was about to enter the church with a smile when Jacob suddenly reached out and dipped his finger in a few drops of water from the white stone basin at the door, and flicked his finger at Zhengde.
Zhengde was stunned, and a few drops of water splashed on his face. Jacob was still stretching out his wet finger and drawing in front of him. Liu Jin was shocked and immediately shouted, "Catch the assassin!"
Two palace guards rushed over and pressed Jacob to the ground. The embroidery saber was half unsheathed and was on his neck. Jacob was so scared that his face turned pale and he screamed.
Seeing this, Yang Ling hurriedly stepped forward to stop them and said, "Slow down, slow down, don't do it." He smiled at the astonished Zheng De and said, "Your Majesty, this is one of the ceremonies in the western religion, it's called 'sprinkling holy water'. It's used to cleanse the body and mind of the person who enters the church and ask for God's blessing. Mr. Jacob is blessing the emperor, he did not mean to offend you. "
Zhengde laughed and said, "This is interesting. Let's not talk about blessing or not, it's much better than spitting on his face."
Zhengde blocked the guard's saber and helped Jacob up. He said with a smile, "This is your recklessness. Why didn't you make it clear first? What treasure are you selling? You almost flicked your head off with a finger, hahaha … "
He turned to the Korean and Annan envoys and said with a smile, "Today I heard that there is a temple built by the Frangji people from thousands of miles away. I think the other country has never seen it before, so I brought you here to see something new. Do you think this blessing ceremony is novel and interesting?"
Park Eunhui and Nguyen Da-Woo bowed and said yes. Zhengde excitedly said to Jacob, "Do I need to wear this black robe to bless? Come, take it off and put it on for me. You all line up and walk inside. I will bless you one by one. "
Everyone didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and the two foreign envoys secretly shook their heads. Jacob and the other missionaries were not as rigid as the Confucian scholars and monks of the Central Plains. Although the emperor was not qualified to wear a priest's robe to bless, in order to gain a foothold in Ming Destiny, they even dared to change the world map. They moved China to the center of the world map, so there was nothing to be afraid of letting the emperor be a priest.
Jacob was tall and thin. He took off the silver cross, took off the black robe, and put it on for the emperor. Father Zhengde, with the tail of the robe on the ground, officially appeared.
Jacob used two fingers to give his blessing, while Zheng De used his entire palm to use the holy water. At that moment, all the officials, the two foreign envoys, and even Yang Ling and the few missionaries were no exception. Zheng De washed their faces with the holy water, and only then did they enter the cathedral dripping wet.
In fact, although the cathedral was large, it was relatively simple. It did not have the stone carvings, murals, and magnificent gold decorations of the Western churches. Zhengde looked at it with great interest. He walked up to the pulpit and said to the crowd, "Father … Jacob? Father Yasan the Fire? Well … You have come all the way to Ming Destiny. I am very happy. In the near future, I will build a treasure ship that can cross thousands of miles of the sea. At that time, you can return to your hometown by ship and bring more people who think of Ming Destiny. I welcome you. "
He said to the two envoys, "When you go back, you can tell the king of the other country that Nippon has sent an envoy to see you. In a few days, Ming Destiny will open the sea ban. Except for a few goods that are restricted by the imperial court, there will be no more restrictions. The people will be free to come and go.
You can tell the king to make early preparations and build more ships. I, Ming Destiny, will not rule over barbarians. I will not reject those who come and go. All countries, regions, and tribes that are willing to pay tribute, no matter far or near, no matter whether there are grievances or not, will be accepted. "
Park Eunhui was moved when he heard this. He didn't expect to hear such a major change in national policy. North Korea was very close to Ming Destiny. Ming Destiny was going to open the sea ban and allow the people to trade freely. This would have a great impact on North Korea.
Correspondingly, North Korea must immediately set up the corresponding yamen and organize the corresponding caravans as soon as possible to seize the market of Ming Destiny. The earlier they arrived, the more business opportunities they could seize. This matter must be reported to the king immediately.
Ruan Dayou, who was originally absent-minded, also realized the importance of this matter. The two immediately came up with an idea. Zhengde also talked about the introduction of western crops, improving agricultural output, forming an alliance with the Duoyan Sanwei, borrowing land to train warhorses, and other matters. Although he didn't mention the internal division of Tartar and his intention to march to the northern frontier, the ambition in his words had revealed no doubt.
As a vassal state of the Great Ming Dynasty for many generations, they were not worried about the Great Ming Dynasty's strength. It was just a small place. If the vassal state was stronger, they would be able to obtain more benefits, so they were naturally optimistic.
Zheng De and the ministers listened to Jacob's sermon like ducks listening to thunder. They strolled around the inside and outside of the cathedral, ordered someone to inform the Ministry of Rites to provide the priests of the cathedral with a certain amount of grain, rice, firewood, and firewood on a monthly basis. Only then did they leave.
As soon as the emperor left, the two envoys, Park Eunhui and Ruan Dayou, immediately left in a hurry and rushed back to the residence arranged for them by the Ministry of Chamberlain. Park Eunhui spread out the white paper and wrote: "King Joongjong, I was ordered to come to Ming Destiny to inquire about the state of affairs. Now I see that His Majesty, the Emperor of Ming Destiny, is not a muddle-headed monarch. Only his nature is playful, just like a naughty child, but his mind has its own world, and his ambition is not low … "
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